 31 Dicembre 2021NEWSFLASH ANTIOCH: DECEMBER 2021
We have reached the final month of 2021.
As I said last month, concerns about Covid.19 and the Omicron variant are increasing. On Christmas day, a 30-year-old man who attended our church died. He always boasted that he had not been vaccinated, but when he caught the virus it led to his death. There are a lot of anti-vaxers in Turkey ... Things are getting bad here due to the devaluation of the Turkish lira, inflation which at its worst reached 100% , then with the intervention of the Central Bank, it dropped to 60%. The increase in prices was crazy, reaching 150/200% for some products. Inflation is out of control. This year we were able to celebrate Christmas at last but we had to take care to keep to health authority regulations. The life of the church and of the Christian community is certainly held back by the situation, but it is in fear and doubt that faith in the Risen Christ helps us to live in another way. I present you the noteworthy events of December showing us that in spite of everything life goes. on! December 7th. Fr Mario (on the right) a Capuchin from Mersin accompanies two Polish priests on a visit to Antakya. They are Don Cristoforo and Don Arturo, companions in priestly ordination. They stay for two days visiting ‘Antioch the cradle of the Church’. December 12th. A Turkish film crew preparing a documentary called Religious Freedom in Turkey (Turkiyedeki dini ozgurluk) record a long interview with Fr. Domenico. It is certainly a delicate issue since there are ‘many Turkeys’... December 18th. Mgr. Massimiliano Palinuro, former parish priest of the church of Trabzon in our district, the Vicariate of Anatolia, becomes Apostolic Vicar of the Latins in Istanbul. December 20th. We prepare the cribs and the Christmas tree ... December 21th. Finally the famous rains of Antakya stop For several days the roads had been flooded causing traffic disruption but on the other hand the farmers were happy about the rain! December 22th. A great friend Professor of the Bible, Franciscan Fr Federic Manns, died in Jerusalem. Almost every year he accompanied the students of the Franciscan Biblical Institute to Antakya and participated in several symposiums on St. Paul, in which he also gave a long talk on the synagogue of Antioch from where the Church was born. December 23th. The citrus trees in garden of our church are loaded with exquisite fruits! December 24th. Christmas Eve in Antakya. This year we were able to celebrate it which we did at 9pm. Despite the cold, about sixty people were able to gather in the church. Several others followed the liturgy from the garden since we had kept the windows open as a precaution against the virus. It was very simple, but very joyful with the choir of children gathered by Fr Francis after communion. The deacon Dincer-Nicholas, from Antakya but now incardinated in the diocese of Smyrna (Izmir), also concelebrated. At the end, from the door of the Church, we exchange wishes for the occasion according to pandemic regulations and... drink a nice warm Salep !!! At the entrance to the garden there was an impressive police presence, as if guarding the Pope! We remembered all our friends and benefactors in saying our thanks to the Lord and MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone in prayer and affection. December 25th. Christmas. We go to the Orthodox Church to greet the Abuna, the leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox foundations and the authorities of the city. The mayor distributed Christmas baskets to everyone. December 26th. Pilgrims walking to Jerusalem, Pablo who is Swiss and Marie who French, stay in Antakya for a few days as guests of our church. December 29th. There is a long article by Gunneri Civaoglu in the national Turkish newspaper MILLIYET, which talks about Christmas in a superficial and preconceived way. He even doubts the very existence of Jesus as if it were a fairy tale to be told to children! However, it is specified and, this is positive, that the end of year party has nothing to do with Christmas December 30th. The new commissioner of Hatay Ahmet ARIBAŞ visits our Church. - This evening’s mass is a thanksgiving for the year 2021 with the Te Deum. Married couple Enis and Nelly with their children also participate. They were part of our community before they married and now they live in the USA where he is a doctor/ anaesthetist. - Cigdem Kaya, a lawyer from Istanbul and our tenant, finishes her job in Hatay for Syrian refugees. She was always very correct in her dealings with us. We give her an icon of the Madonna as a partiing gift. December 31st. Another year is finished. For me it is the 34th in Antakya and the 54th in Turkey! What can I say? Only that everything is the Grace of God! 2021 had very beautiful moments such as Easter, the return to everyday life in the summer, holidays in Italy, the meeting with the confreres after the various lock-downs and last Christmas. Others quite sad moments like the loss of various brothers due to covid.19. The last was on December 25th. Then the various periods of closures in which we felt like "deportees" (in the biblical sense!) ... I believe that everything has contributed to making us grow and to reflect on the essentials of life. Everything passes. Only the good is what remains and has value to men and especially God. We sadly take our leave of 2021. . We hope that 2022 which we begin with the celebration of the Mass of the “Christmas of Peace” (St. Leo the Great) at 00.30 we can taste its fruits especially of Peace, Unity and Brotherhood. From Frs Domenico and Francis in Antioch HAPPY 2022 AND PEACE AND GOODWILL TO ALL !!!
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